Former T20 skipper Shahid Afridi retires from international cricket

DUBAI – Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has announced his retirement from international cricket, but said he wants to play in his country’s domestic league for two more years.

The flamboyant allrounder, who played the last of his 27 tests in 2010 and retired from one-day internationals in 2015, quit as Pakistan’s 20-overs captain after the team’s poor World Twenty20 campaign in India last year.

“I have said goodbye to international cricket,” Afridi, who turns 37 next month, said in Sharjah after smashing a 28-ball 54 for Peshawar Zalmi against Karachi Kings in the ongoing Pakistan Super League.

“I am playing for my fans and will continue to play this league for another two years but it’s goodbye from international cricket. Now my foundation is important for me. I have played with seriousness and in a professional way for my country.”

Known for his swashbuckling batting and tricky leg-spin, Afridi’s last match for Pakistan was the defeat by Australia in the World Twenty20 in Mohali in March 2016.

Despite his intention to continue in the game’s shortest format, he has not been selected since that defeat. -Reuters